Golf ball mark repair tool

ABSTRACT

A golf ball mark repair tool includes an integrated set of rosary beads. Attached to the circumference of a circular handle are rosary beads operable to facilitate praying the rosary. The beads are equally spaced and apart from the handle to provide the user with not only an ability to discretely conduct the rosary but an enhanced tactual feel. At the same time the tool is operable to repair a ball mark. The tool further includes a detachable center portion operable as a mean for marking a player&#39;s ball on the green.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application relates to and claims the benefit of priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/038,302 filed Mar. 20, 2008,which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a golf tool having areligious utility.

2. Relevant Background

The first golf-like game is recorded as taking place on 26 Feb. 1297, inthe Netherlands, in a city called Loenen aan de Vecht. Here the Dutchplayed a game with a stick and leather ball. Whoever hit the ball into atarget several hundreds of meters away the least number of times won.However, the modern game of golf we understand today is generallyconsidered to be a Scottish invention. The word golf may be a Scot'salteration of Dutch “kolf” meaning “stick, “club” and “bat”. There arereports of even earlier accounts of a golf like game from continentalEurope.

These earlier games are more accurately viewed as ancestors of themodern game we understand as golf. The fact remains that the modern gameof golf originated and developed in Scotland: the first permanent golfcourse originated in Scotland as did membership in the first golf clubs.The very first written rules originated there, as did the establishmentof the 18 hole course; the first formalized tournament structuresdeveloped and competitions were held between various Scottish cities.Before long, the modern game of golf had spread from Scotland to Englandand from there to the rest of the world.

As one would expect, the rules of golf have evolved over severalcenturies of play. One rule of golf etiquette deals with the repair ofthe green. During normal play the impact of a ball on the green canleave a mark or indentation. The final strokes of a hole of golf involvethe precise placement of the ball into the cup and a ball mark, orindeed several ball marks, can result in a surface non-conducive toprecision putting. The rules of etiquette therefore require a playermaking such an indentation into the green to repair the mark beforecontinuing play. To aid in the process, several different ball markrepair tools have been designed. All in one manner or the other act torepair the indentation left by the ball rendering the surface of thegreen suitable for putting.

Golf is not without its stressful moments. And with those stressfulmoments so too come actions that a player, in retrospect, may regret.For those players who are religious, golf may elicit a need to pray fordivine intervention or assistance in a particular stroke or putt. Or,alternatively, after a stroke or putt with a less than desirableoutcome, a golfer's response may give rise to a plea for forgiveness.Thus for many players of the game of golf, prayer is a vital component.

Individuals who practice the Catholic faith have long used the conceptof the rosary to aid in rendering a prayer. The traditional story of therosary was that Mary herself appeared to Saint Dominic in the twelfthcentury. At that time, tradition says she gave him the rosary andpromised Dominic that if he spread devotion to the rosary, his religiousorder would flourish.

Originally the rosary had 150 beads, the same number of Psalms in theBible. In the twelfth century, religious orders recited together the 150Psalms as a way to mark the hours of the day and the days of the week.Those people who could not read wanted to share in this practice, sopraying on a string of 150 beads or knots began as a parallel to prayingthe Psalms. It was a way that the illiterate could remember the Lord andhis mother throughout the day.

The rosary today consists of a set of prayers which are repeated in aset fashion. A string of rosary beads is usually held in the person'shand, and prayers are counted by passing the person's fingers along theset of beads counting the beads as the prayers are said. A completecourse around the set of beads completes the set of prayers. It isunderstandable that, given the ever increasing pace of today's society,time to conduct the rosary is more and more scarce and few carry withthem at all times a set of rosary beads.

While the play of golf employs numerous pieces of equipment in the formof clubs, tees, balls, repair tools (all of which are carried in arather large bag), it does not include a rosary. Yet, for those whopractice the Catholic faith, the golf course often becomes a place ofconsiderable connection with one's faith. Accordingly there is a need toprovide a readily available means by which to pray the rosary while notfurther encumbering the player with additional implements.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A golf ball mark repair tool with an integrated set of rosary beads ishereafter disclosed by way of example. One aspect of the presentinvention includes a golf ball mark repair tool with a substantiallycircular handle. Attached to the circumference of the circular handleare rosary beads. The beads are equally spaced and apart from the handleto provide the user with not only an ability to discretely conduct therosary but at the same time provide a tool by which to repair a ballmark. The tool further includes a detachable center portion operable asa mean for marking a player's ball on the green.

The features and advantages described in this disclosure and in thefollowing detailed description are not all-inclusive. Many additionalfeatures and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in therelevant art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims hereof.Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specificationhas been principally selected for readability and instructional purposesand may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe theinventive subject matter; reference to the claims is necessary todetermine such inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The aforementioned and other features and objects of the presentinvention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent,and the invention itself will be best understood, by reference to thefollowing description of one or more embodiments taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a rosary ball mark repair tool according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a rosary ball mark repair tool absent a centerball mark component, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of a rosary ball mark repair toolwith a center ball mark detached, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 4 is a side cut away view of a rosary ball mark repair toolaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

The Figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes ofillustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structuresand methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing fromthe principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Specific embodiments of the present invention are hereafter described indetail with reference to the accompanying Figures. Like elements in thevarious Figures are identified by like reference numerals forconsistency. Although the invention has been described and illustratedwith a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that thepresent disclosure has been made only by way of example and thatnumerous changes in the combination and arrangement of parts can beresorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, one embodimentof the present invention will be seen relative to an improved ball markrepair tool useful in the repair of minor damage to a golfing surfacesuch as a golf green and the like, in combination with a set of rosarybeads affixed thereto. The tool 100 will be seen to include two spacedapart and essentially parallel tine elements 120 that extend from asubstantially circular base portion 130. According to one embodiment ofthe present invention, the tines 120 and base portion 130 are formedfrom a single planar piece of material. In another embodiment of thepresent invention, the tines 120 are separate components that areaffixed to the base portion 130. The base portion includes a centerremovable ball marker 140 that, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention, is magnetically coupled to the base portion 130.Affixed to the base portion is a religious symbol or emblem which inthis example is a crucifix.

The base portion 130 also provides a mounting location for a pluralityof balls or beads 160. According to one embodiment of the presentinvention, the balls or beads 160 are substantially spherical and caneach be fashioned to replicate a golf ball or other ornamental shape. Inanother embodiment of the present invention, the beads can becylindrical (circular in two dimensions, from a front and rearorthogonal view). In other embodiments the beads can be a combination ofboth spherical and cylindrical properties. In the embodiment of thepresent invention shown in FIG. 1, five (5) beads 160 are located oneach lateral side of the tool 100 and can represent five (5) recitationsof a decade of the “Hail Mary” prayer. In addition, the beads 160 haveutility to the golfer in counting the user's golf score during thecourse of playing a hole. Furthermore the beads 160 increase the ballmark tool's 100 tactile friction enabling a user to reliably grip anduse the tool 100.

While in this embodiment five (5) beads 160 are affixed to each side ofthe tool 100 for a total of ten (10) beads 160, one skilled in the artwill recognize that the number of beads may vary based on the needs ofthe user, manufacturing constraints, and other factors known to oneskilled in the relevant art. It will also be recognized by one skilledin the art that the relative size and shape of the beads 160, tines 120and base portion 130 may vary without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention.

Referring now in addition to FIG. 2, a front view of a rosary ball markrepair tool absent the center ball mark can be seen according to oneembodiment of the present invention. As shown the base portion 130 ofthe tool 100 includes a base ring 230 and a recessed circular base edge220 forming a circular L structure. The central portion of the recessedcircular base edge 220 is void of material forming a hole 210. Affixedto the recessed circular base edge 220 is, according to one embodimentof the present invention, a magnetic ring 250. The magnetic ring 250 iscomprised of a magnetic material of suitable strength to magneticallyattract and affix to the base portion 130 a metallic ball marker 140.One skilled in the art will recognize that other means suitable to holdthe ball marker 140, such as hoop/hook fastener mechanism or a reusableadhesive, may be used without departing from the scope of the presentinvention.

While the dimensional aspects of the present invention may vary withoutdeparting from the scope of its usefulness, in one embodiment the rosaryball mark repair tool is approximately 3 inches long with a nominalthickness of ⅛ of an inch and a width of 1 and 7/32 of an inch. Eachrosary bead 160 possesses a diameter of approximately 3/32 inches andthe crucifix 150 on the top of the rosary ball mark tool isapproximately 7/16 of an inch high with a maximum width of approximately¼ inch. Each rosary bead 160 is angularly displaced by 26 degrees asmeasured from the center of the rosary ball mark tool. The ball marker140 is approximately 1 inch in diameter and 1/16 inch thick.

The recessed circular base edge 220 is dimensioned to be 1 1/32 inchesin diameter to accept the ball marker 140. The hole 210 positioned inthe center of the rosary ball mark repair tool is approximately 17/32inches. Finally the centerline of the tines 120 are spaced 7/32 inchesapart.

The magnetic ring 250 in a preferred embodiment, is permanently attachedto the recessed circular base edge using an adhesive or some otherpersistent attachment means. The dimensions of the magnetic ring 250 areconstrained so that the width of the ring 250 combined with the ballmarker 140 provides a total width substantially equal to the depth ofthe recessed circular base edge 220. Accordingly, with the magnetic ring250 attached to the recess circular base edge 220 and the ball marker140 magnetically coupled to the magnetic ring 250, the upper mostsurface of the ball marker 140 is flush or at the same level as the basering 230.

Referring in addition to FIG. 3, an exploded perspective view of arosary ball mark repair tool according to one embodiment of the presentinvention is shown. The ball marker 140 in this rendition of the presentinvention is shown removed and displaced from the base portion 130 ofthe tool 100. Also shown in FIG. 3 is the relationship between the width(depth) of the magnetic ring 250 as compared to the recessed circularbase edge 220 and the base ring 230. The removal of the ball marker 140from the base portion 130 of the tool 100 can be accomplished byapplying a minimum yet defined amount of force against the portion ofthe ball marker 160 proximate to the magnetic ring 250 via the hole orvoided area 210. By doing so the magnetic bond, or similar affixingagent, between the base portion 130 and the ball marker 140 is broken.

The structure of one embodiment of the rosary ball marker repair toolcan also be seen in the side cut away view of FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows thebase portion comprising a recessed area 410 in which the ball marker 140resides. The L structure formed by the interaction of the recessedcircular base edge 220 and the base ring 230 can clearly be seen as canthe relative positioning of the magnetic ring 250.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the tool is comprisedsolely of a circular base portion 130 with the recessed circular baseedge 220 and ornamental balls 160. The recessed circular base edge 220and circular base portion 130 include a magnetic base ring 250 and acentral region 210 void of material as previously described. However thetines 120 are removed making the tool suitable for holding a ball markerand offering rosary beads for performing the rosary.

The rosary ball mark repair tool of the present invention provides agolfer with a useful and versatile tool for not only repairing ballmarks and marking a ball's location on the green but for discretelyreciting the rosary during the game or at least providing to the golfera reminder of his or her religious beliefs. By combining the rosarybeads onto the golf ball mark repair tool it is possible to store therosary beads within the golf bag and readily retrieve the rosary beadsas required. The fabrication of the functionality of the rosary beadsonto the ball mark repair tool obviates the possibility of a separatestrand of beads becoming entangled within the storage area of the bag.The combined tool and rosary beads can be easily fabricated using, forexample, a molding or extrusion process. The rosary beads also enhancethe ball marker's tactual properties making it easier to implement inits repair functionality. Lastly the rosary balls offer the user a meansby which to recall his or her score as it progresses during the field ofplay.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with a certaindegree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosurehas been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in thecombination and arrangement of parts can be resorted to by those skilledin the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention,as hereinafter claimed.

1. A golf ball mark repair tool, comprising: a base portion having twotines extending therefrom with said base portion and said tines formedof a single piece of planar material wherein said base portion of saidplanar material has a lateral edge; and a plurality of substantiallyspherical objects affixed to said edge in a geometrically symmetricalorientation.
 2. The golf ball mark repair tool of claim 1 furthercomprising a religious symbol affixed to the base portion.
 3. The golfball mark repair tool of claim 1 further comprising a ball markermagnetically and removably coupled to the base portion.
 4. The golf ballmark repair tool of claim 3 wherein the base portion includes a recessedarea configured to accept the ball marker.
 5. The golf ball mark repairtool of claim 3 wherein the recessed area includes magnetic materialoperable for magnetically and removably coupling the ball marker to thebase portion.
 6. The golf ball mark repair tool of claim 4 wherein therecessed area includes a central region void of material.
 7. A golf ballmark repair tool, comprising: a base portion having two tines extendingtherefrom with said base portion and said tines formed of a single pieceof planar material wherein a surface of said base portion of said planarmaterial has a recessed central area; and a ball marker magnetically andremovably coupled to the base portion and dimensioned to conform to therecessed central area.
 8. The golf ball mark repair tool of claim 7wherein the recessed area includes magnetic material operable formagnetically and removably coupling the ball marker to the base portion.9. The golf ball mark repair tool of claim 7 wherein a central region ofthe recessed area is void of material.
 10. The golf ball mark repairtool of claim 7 further comprising a plurality of objects affixed to alateral edge of the base portion and orientated in a geometricallysymmetrical fashion.
 11. The golf ball mark repair tool of claim 10wherein the plurality of objects is substantially spherical.
 12. Thegolf ball mark repair tool of claim 10 wherein the base portion issubstantially circular.
 13. The golf ball mark repair tool of claim 10wherein the plurality of objects is visually and tactually perceptible.14. The golf ball mark repair tool of claim 10 wherein the plurality ofobjects is operable for performing the rosary.
 15. A golf ball markingtool, comprising: a circular planar base having a central region void ofmaterial wherein said base includes a recessed central edge forming arecessed central area; a ball marker magnetically and removably coupledto the circular planar base and dimensioned to conform to the recessedcentral area; and a plurality of substantially spherical objects affixedto an external lateral edge of the circular planar base in ageometrically symmetrical orientation.
 16. The golf ball marking tool ofclaim 15 further comprising a magnetic ring affixed to the recessedcentral edge, said magnetic ring possessing magnetic propertiessufficient to removably hold the ball marker in the recessed centralarea.
 17. The golf ball marking tool of claim 16 wherein the ball markeris removable from the central recessed area by application of a forceimposed on the ball marker through the central region.